Saturday, May 12, 2018

A senator is demanding that the FCC
investigate why a company, contracted to monitor calls of prison
inmates, also allows police to track phones of anyone in the US
without a warrant.

The bombshell
story in The New York Times revealed Securus, a
Texas-based prison technology company, could track any phone “within
seconds” by obtaining data from cellular giants — including AT&T,
Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon — typically reserved for marketers.

Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democratic senator from
Oregon whose work often focuses on tech and privacy, sent a
letter to the FCC this week demanding an investigation.

… Duplex
is Google’s new AI, and a massive step-up from the likes of
Siri and Alexa. Duplex is capable of making calls for you, meaning
you’ll never have to book a hair appointment or table at a
restaurant again. The problem is Duplex is a little too human for
its own good.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai demoed Duplex on stage at
I/O 2018, showing the next-level AI fooling two people into thinking
it was a real-life human. And many people found that aspect
troubling, especially as at no point did Duplex announce it wasn’t
human.

It seems
that Google was unaware what reaction Duplex was going to cause.
And the company certainly didn’t foresee morality questions being
asked. Google has now issued a statement regarding Duplex, telling
The
Verge:

“We understand and value the discussion
around Google Duplex — as we’ve said from the beginning,
transparency in the technology is important. We are designing this
feature with disclosure built-in, and we’ll make sure the system is
appropriately identified. What we showed at I/O was an early
technology demo, and we look forward to incorporating feedback as we
develop this into a product.”

Google has listened to the feedback and reacted
accordingly. The problem is, if Duplex is going to announce itself
as not being human, why does it need to sound so human? This is just
the first of many moral dilemmas humanity is going to face when
dealing with AI.

… the reality is that any major leap forward
on cost and efficiency will no longer be possible through automation
alone, since most of the tasks that can be automated in an automotive
factory have already been tackled.

When a real Factory of the Future arrives, it will
not look different because we have automated the processes we use
today. It will look different because we will have invented entirely
new processes and designs for building cars requiring entirely new
manufacturing techniques.

Take the paint shop. Today, in most mature
markets, it’s more than 90 percent automated, yet it is still one
of the most expensive and space-intensive sections of the factory.
Robots, instead of humans, perform most tasks—applying protective
corrosion coats, sealant, primer, basecoat, and clear coat to achieve
the highly polished finishes we like on our cars—but the
process itself is not that different than what it was 30 years ago.
For instance, in the BMW plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina,
processing a car through the paint shop is a 12-hour task, involving
more than 100 robots, and requiring a vehicle in the paint assembly
line to travel four miles within the factory before the process is
complete.

Clearly, there has to be a better way to paint a
car, but to make that operation more efficient and take cost out will
require the development of a new process. Perhaps it will be the
experimental approach of applying a single film over the car and then
baking it on, like in a pottery kiln—currently being tested in
automotive research labs. Or 3-D printing of the entire car body in
the color a customer orders, completely eliminating the need for a
traditional paint shop and body shop. Whatever it is, it will have
to be more than adding a few more robots into the mix to make a
significant difference in the cost of producing an auto.

So there’s a lot of great stuff out there on why
Net Neutrality is important and we should fight/advocate for it, but
the ACLU has outdone itself with this segment explaining why net
neutrality is important. Have a laugh on them while you learn
something.

Apple made
more profit in three months than Amazon has generated during its
lifetime

… The smartphone maker generated a $48.35
billion in profit during its fiscal 2017 and made $13.8 billion in
net income during the March 2018 quarter.

In comparison, Amazon's total net income since
inception is about $9.6 billion. The number was calculated by
adding up all of Amazon's annual net income figures since its
inception to the company's $1.6 billion profit in the March 2018
quarter.

A student introduced me to this “game.” Could
be worth the $20 for any budding geek. Very impressive graphics and
every indication that it will continue to get better.

Build
and grow your very own computer repair enterprise as you learn to
diagnose, fix and build PCs. With real-world licensed components,
realistic pricing plus comprehensive hardware and software simulation
you can plan and bring your ultimate PC to life.

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About Me

I live in Centennial Colorado. (I'm not actually 100 years old., but I hope to be some day.) I'm an independant computer consultant, specializing in solving problems that traditional IT personnel tend to have difficulty with... That includes everything from inventorying hardware & software, to converting systems & data, to training end-users. I particularly enjoy taking on projects that IT has attempted several times before with no success. I also teach at two local Universities: everything from Introduction to Microcomputers through Business Continuity and Security Management. My background includes IT Audit, Computer Security, and a variety of unique IT projects.